Pizza Pasta Salad
Pizza Pasta Salad has all the flavors of a delicious pizza in a pasta salad. Mini pepperoni, olives, green bell pepper, cubes of cheese, tomato – all tossed in a vinaigrette in this easy pasta salad. Warm up the leftovers of this Pizza Pasta Salad with marinara sauce for another meal. I love Italian pasta salad recipes and this one is great!
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PIZZA PASTA SALAD RECIPE
What’s not to love in this pasta salad. It has the flavors of pizza with a zesty vinaigrette.
Here’s the line up of ingredients for this amazing pasta salad.
I love these mini pepperonis. They’re so cute and perfectly sized. You can definitely use regular pepperonis quartered but they’re not nearly as fun.
I have a love/hate relationship with pasta salads. Every time I eat one I think about how much better it would be if it was warm.
I’m weird. I like almost everything hot. This however, I liked cold.
I’m not gonna lie though. My littles aren’t fans of pasta salad. So I heated up the leftovers with some marinara and they were thrilled. Two meals in one!
I made a homemade vinaigrette but you can totally use bottled Italian dressing if you are in a pinch. You can use red onion instead of green onions if you like. Add a little red pepper for some heat!
HOW TO MAKE THIS PASTA SALAD
- Cook pasta al dente in a large pot in heavily salted water according to package directions. Drain and cool.
- Toss all of the salad ingredients except for the Parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
- Prepare dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing to the pasta and toss to coat. Chill for at least 1/2 hour in the fridge. Stir well and top with grated Parmesan cheese right before serving.
OTHER PASTA SALAD RECIPES:
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Macaroni Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Spinach, Feta, and Orzo Salad
- Vegetable Orzo Salad
- Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
- Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rotini pasta, cooked and drained
- 1 (5 ounce) package Hormel pepperoni minis, (or whole pepperonis quartered; I like to crisp them up in the microwave)
- 4 ounces provolone cheese, (or cheddar) cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Dressing: (you can use 3/4 cup store bought Italian dressing as a shortcut)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, (or fresh minced garlic)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in heavily salted water according to package directions. Drain and cool. Toss all of the salad ingredients except for the Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Prepare dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing to the pasta and toss to coat. Chill for at least 1/2 hour until serving. Stir well and top with grated Parmesan cheese right before serving.
Ate it tonight Husband really liked😀 I also did too! Made it exactly like the Recipe. Thanks Christy.
Thanks Susan!
pasta salad looks so very good i like i love it
This pizza pasta salad is so delicious. I brought it to a cookout last weekend and everyone loved it.
I love how this pizza pasta salad combines the best of both worlds: the comforting flavors of pizza and the satisfying heartiness of pasta and it is addictively good!
Is it dry powder oregano or oregano flakes?
Oregano flakes.
wow – this reminded me of a long forgotten recipe we used to make for our Italian club 25-30 years ago that was always a big hit. Had to dig it out – a few differences but here is the whole list – we used cheese tortellini, cubed salami, mozzarella cubed, and then a collection of small jarred veggies with their liquid from Progresso – pepper salad, marinated mushrooms, olive salad, artichoke hearts, mushroom salad, olive salad -mix and toss together and serve – can vary amounts, just add more or less depending on your likes. The juice from the various jars makes the dressing ! ! We’re gonna make it tomorrow when we visit some friends – thanks for the reminder, had to really dig for the long buried recipe.
Thank you! I hope it’s just as you remembered!
Oh yes ! Our cup of tea exactly ! Thank you and enjoy your day 🙂
You too!
Think I might serve this at Ds’s party next month for the grownups. And those kids that might like some, too! It looks delicious!
As a side note, we have a 2008 Rav4, the one with the tire on the back door? With the hard cover? We call it ‘Ravvies man-bun’ and tell ‘him’ how much cooler he is than the new Ravs that don’t have them, lol.
Yes, we did name our car. We are weird that way. Our Mazda was Mozzie, and the car before that I called ‘william’. 😀
Hilarious! Mozzie and William!
Do you use regular Olive oil or Extra Virgin olive oil? Thanks! 🙂
Always Extra virgin
The salad is nice but I think next time I would tone down the amount of red wine vinegar.
How many does this serve? I have been looking for a cold pasta dish to serve teens for our church and need to bring a dish that serves 14-18. Thanks bunches!
Yes, I would say it serves about 8.
This salad came up when I searched WW salads, do we know the amount of points per serving by chance?
Oh that’s odd. As you see in the notes, I got it from the back of the Hormel package so I’m not sure.
OMG! I thought I was the only one who hates man buns. What is up with that? Just cut your hair! As an aside: love the past recipe. Jan
Haha. Thanks! Glad I’m not the only one.
Could you add some fresh Basil or fresh Oregano to this?
I’m making this soon for bookclub. Yum!
I like the man bun on the right guy 😉
I make this salad but minus the green bell pepper and I use a cucumber I always get request to make this salad
I love hearing that!
I made this last week for our long weekend at the beach. It was delicious! The only adjustment I made was that I doubled the cheese (you can never have too much!)
Oh I agree! More cheese the better.
Tried this tonight– simple and AWESOME! Loved it.
Couldn’t convince my picky 5 year old to try it, but I didn’t count on that one anyway! 🙂
Thank you!!!
Bahaha, that episode of King of queens is a favorite. And she won’t believe him till Deacon tells her how ugly it is.
Love your blog!
Thank you!
….. You need to watch this video. I am not ok with man buns (of the hair type) either.
http://elitedaily.com/humor/vigilantes-drive-cut-hipsters-buns-drive-video/942157/
I’ve never seen a man bun in person. Believe it. Would love to see your collection of them though. Please show us!!
Hahahaha. I might have to. Although hair and food don’t really mix.
We must have been on the same wavelength! I posted a sun-dried tomato pasta salad today. This pizza one looks so fun and must be popular with kids.
That is one of our favorite episodes! Carrie’s face when Deacon tells her she looks bad is awesome.
I love it!
Pizza pasta salad is my favorite cold pasta salad ever!! I had forgotten all about this salad thanks for reminding me, I bet my little people would love this in their lunch boxes!!
Christy, I make a hot pizza pasta dinner with all the above ingredients except for the dressing. I use Ragu
pizza sauce and mix it with my red pasta meat sauce and top with parm. and mozzarella. I usually use elbow macaroni and bake in the oven.
Sounds delish. I have a hot version too but I haven’t posted it!
We love pasta salads. Can’t wait to make the pizza pasta salad. Not a fan of the man bun either. LOL! Love your stories. Thanks for posting.
LOL, my husband and I literally just had this conversation two days ago about the man buns. I dislikethem SO much! I’m so glad I’m not alone! 🙂 I’m really excited to make this. I’ve been looking for a new pasta salad recipe, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience with a recipe from your site!
Oh thank you Cindi!
Can’t stand man buns. When did they become a thing? Love pasta salad-this one looks great!
Pasta salad is the best- this looks delicious!